End Times - The Rapture

Summary: This is a Christian Bible study highlighting some scripture describing end times, but more importantly focusing on what we need to do to be ready for the rapture from a biblical perspective, not from the churches' perspective. Also pointing out a different end-times indicator unknown to most. Acknowledging that God purposely kept the complete details from us, and only gave us some hints and pieces in the Bible. Although we can find hundreds of descriptions of end-times on the internet (mostly websites with profit-generating ads), they're extracted from the same Bible references, but with added variety of people speculative views.

A note to non-Christians: I highly recommend you start with my link, Atheism - A Different Perspective, before reading this page.

CONTENT

End-Times Bible Indicators
The Rapture
End-Times Bible Indicators Details
Is the Rapture Before, During, or After the Period of Tribulation?
More General Details on End-Times
More on The Rapture
The Antichrist
A Possible Timeline of End-Times Events
Related Sections on How to Be Ready for the Rapture

1. End-Times Bible Indicators

Wars, rumors of wars, and earthly disasters growing.
The Holy Spirit left most people. (A Bible indicator not known to many)

2. The Rapture

Summarizing some facts on the Rapture, from Bible references:

What is the rapture? It is when genuine Christian believers both dead and alive are removed from earth and joined with Jesus in the clouds. Note, only true-Christian-believers will be removed in the rapture, not all so called "Christians"! Who are the "true Christian Believers"? They're those who's sins are forgiven. They know the commands of Jesus and keep them. See section below on The Lord's Prayer. If you're thinking, "what commands? I'm covered by the blood", or I pray the rosary always, you'd better see The Lord's Prayer section.

Will the rapture be before, during, or after the tribulation period? It is towards the end of the 7-year tribulations. Clear biblical references below.

Although the actual word "rapture" is not in the Bible, it is a good one-word description of the events prophesied in the Bible.

No one knows when Jesus returns except God the Father. Therefore. it could be tomorrow or 500 years from now.

The rest of the prophesied end-times events (shown in the section below) will continue on earth after the rapture. Most of the end-times horror will not be attended by true Christian believers because they would be raptured from earth earlier.

On the rapture day, when the dead believers rise to meet Jesus in the clouds, among them will also be all the biblical personalities, like Noah, Moses, Mary, Paul, the disciples, to name a few who will also rise from the dead at the sound of the trumpet.

There are several rapture-like events that already took place in the Bible. These are very good parallels that we can learn from:
- Noah and his family removed before the flood. Which was actually referred to as a parallel to the rapture in Matthew 24:37-39.
- Lot and his family removed before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, also used as rapture parallel in Luke 17:28-29.
- Mary, Joseph, and baby-Jesus removed before King Herod ordered the killing of all babies under 2 years old.

2.1 How to be ready for the rapture whether dead or alive at the time

It is not about who is not sinning!! It is about who has their sins forgiven! See my page on How to Be True Christians. While not sinning is our calling, we should genuinely repent when we do, and ask God for forgiveness the proper way.

To always remain in the state of "sins forgiven", Jesus gave us the perfect daily prayer - The Lord's Prayer (see section below with crucial new explanation). As long as we genuinely pray this prayer daily with the Bread meaning the spiritual Bread of life, Jesus Himself, for the forgiveness of sins, we will always be ready for the Rapture.

It's sad to hear so many churches don't know what Christianity is about! Teaching people that the only way to make it into the rapture is to stop sinning! Church leaders pressuring people with harsh requirements they themselves cannot keep! See Are We True Christians? (section below) about the incompetency of churches.

Summarizing - to be ready, become right with God, the biblical way:

Pray the Lord's Prayer daily, with the "Bread" meaning the spiritual Bread of life, Jesus Himself, for the forgiveness of sins.

Wholeheartedly seek God, by reading the Bible often.

Genuinely love all people of all origins, skin color, and financial status, as you love yourself. And most importantly, always forgive them.

3. End-Times Bible Indicators Details

There are two indicators in the Bible that point to approaching end times:

Wars and earthly disasters growing.
The Holy Spirit left most people.

The 1st indicator is not quite there yet because there were worse times in history than today. Today's events such as Covid and the war in Ukraine are relatively insignificant compared to similar events in the not-so-distant past - World Wars 1 and 2, Smallpox in early 1900s (300 million people dead), the Spanish flu of 1918 (21 million dead in 4 months), etc. And the environmental issues may be hundreds of years away before we see actual disastrous effects or may even be cyclical. However, this indicator could speed-up very quickly if today's wars escalate into a nuclear confrontation for example.

Matthew 24:8

Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

The 2nd indicator, the Holy Spirit has left most people, is usually not talked about by most internet sources. We can have an idea of this indicator by monitoring the world around us - things like news about fast decreasing number of Christians, social media and Atheism influence on new generations, etc. And not to forget that most of the so called "christians" today are misled by their churches doctrines and therefore are not true Christians, and already don't have the Holy Spirit. The situation is worse than we know. All these are indicators of things that cause the Holy Spirit to leave most people.

There are two specific terms used in the Bible to refer to this:

"The abomination that causes desolation."
"The One who now holds it back."

The abomination that causes desolation

This term was mentioned in several places in both the Old and New Testaments. It means:

- Abomination: the devil.

- Desolation: The Holy Spirit has left.

Matthew 24:15-24

Jesus: 15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand ... 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Notes: when you see that the devil has replaced the Holy Spirit in most people ("standing in the holy place" meaning the "holy place" where the Holy Spirit resides inside people), then the false messiahs will appear... Recall that when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the inner-room, "the Holy Place" in the Jewish temple, was torn in two. This indicated that the Holy place was no longer a physical place in Jerusalem. The Holy place that Jesus is talking about here is the place where the Holy Spirit resides inside of us.

The One who now holds it back

According to the apostle Paul in the reference below, it is when the Holy Spirit "the One who now holds it back" is no longer inside most people on earth, then end times events are launched. It is this indicator in my opinion that is pointing to fast-approaching end-times. Social media influence and young generations fascination with Atheism, and recent news articles showing Christianity in fast decline, are some of those exponentially growing indicators.

2 Thessalonian 2:7-9

Paul: For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the One who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie...

Notes: Paul reiterating Jesus' words, said that the Antichrist will appear on the scene when the Holy Spirit "is taken out of the way". Meaning most people on earth become rejecting of God. Then the "lawless one" will have unhindered free roam.

In my biblical opinion, observing world activities today, I find the 2nd indicator "the Holy Spirit has left most people" is almost here. Aside from the obvious non-Christians and Atheists, I think the so called "chirstians" themselves are already mostly not filled with the Holy Spirit due to the reasons detailed in my page Are we True Christians?

4. Is the Rapture Before, During, or After the Period of Tribulation?

A tough question indeed, has been debated forever. There are many opinions and views out there, mostly because the Bible did not give clear description of it. But I believe God will reveal more as we get closer.

Here is my answer, with biblical references below:

The Rapture will be closer to the end of the period of tribulation.
But it is likely that "most" true Christian believers alive at the time, will not experience the tribulation pains.
- Jesus said to pray to avoid its pains, and Paul said we are not in darkness that this day should affect us.

Ok, there is a lot in these 2 bullets:

4.1 The Rapture will be Closer to the End of the 7-Year Period of tribulation:

In this reference, Jesus clearly says those who are alive in those days, will witness these destructive events leading up to the return of Jesus and the rapture.

Luke 21:10-12

10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake.

4.2 Most True Christian Believers Alive at the Time, will not Experience the Tribulation Pains:

This reference from Jesus says that we can pray and avoid it.

Luke 21:34-36

34 “Be careful, ... that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, ...

And these references from Paul say we shouldn't be affected because "we don't live in darkness," which is equivalent to what Jesus said. True Christian believers will not experience wrath, even during the tribulations because they know how to pray to God, and He will protect them. But with one exception related to "the Elect", in the next subsection.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-9

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief...

9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

4.3 Some of God's "Elect" May Suffer

A few Christians from what the Bible calls "The Elect" - Christians with a higher task beyond the normal true Christians, may suffer. See Predestination Demystified for more on "The Elect."

Here's why I say this. Jesus said:

Luke 21:13-19

13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18 But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19 Stand firm, and you will win life.

Note very carefully here: Jesus said in verse 13 that it will be an occasion for testimony. Who but the Elect, a true disciple of Jesus, is qualified to do this role? Jesus is saying that some of this is done to glorify God, not to make that Elect believer suffer. And God will be with them! There will be "Elect" Christians in those days.

5. More General Details on End-Times

Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-41 that no one knows the day or the hour except God the Father. And compared that time to when Noah and his family were removed before the flood. And in Luke 17:28-29, Jesus also compared it to when Lot and his family were removed before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In these references, it was noted that Noah and his family and Lot and his family were removed before destruction. This is still in line with rapture after tribulations. Because the worst destruction comes in the years after the rapture.

Matthew reported similar words from Jesus as Luke described.

Matthew 24:36-41

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Matthew 24:3-8

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Matthew 24:9-13

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

6. More on The Rapture

The best description of the rapture is from Paul in 1-Thessalonians:

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17

14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

Notes: In other words at the rapture when the trumpet sounds, first the dead true-Christian-believers will rise (not all the dead, and not all the dead so called Christians! only the dead true-Christian-believers), then they along with the living true-Christian-believers at the time, will meet up with Jesus in the clouds. One cool aspect of the rapture is that those alive at the time will never experience death.

When will this happen? No one knows the day or the hour. It may be tomorrow, or 500 years from now!

Jesus in Matthew-24 said something similar:

Matthew 24:30-31

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

6.1 How Exactly Do We Get Taken Up

First, we have to accept the fact that the Bible did not provide much details. But we do have a couple of analogic examples in the Bible:

The ascension of Jesus into heaven was described with some details:

Acts 1:9-11:

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Another description in the Bible that can be used to give us an idea about the dead people going up at that time, is the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Before the miracle, his sister told Jesus, "It's been 4 days, his body is decaying and stinking by now...". But Jesus brought him out as a whole, normal human.

Only some hints of how it will happen, but precious ones!

6.2 Another Rapture Perspective

The question of "when will the rapture occur?" can also be answered in a different way:

To any living person the rapture is less than a 100 years away. How is that? The day we die, we fast-forward to the rapture. Paul said "in a twinkling of an eye" - so from the point-of-view of the dead person, the moment they die, they instantly reopen their eyes to the sound of the trumpet.

I'm 65 years old now in 2023. So for me the rapture is less than 30 years or so away.

7. The Antichrist

There are several references in the Bible that talk about the antichrist. Pointing to some of them here. This passage below says the Holy Spirit is currently holding back the lawless one (aka the antichrist). Then there will come a time when He won't hold him back anymore. Meaning a time when no one on earth will be filled with the Holy Spirit anymore. Then the anti-Christ will appear in the world:

2 Thessalonian 2:7-9

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie...

Notes: One obvious time is, after the church is raptured, then the Holy Spirit ("the one who holds it back") is no longer inside any of the people remaining on earth. If they didn't disappear in the rapture, then those people were not true believers whose sins were not forgiven, and therefore no Holy Spirit inside them.

Other parts of the Bible talk about a satanically empowered man who will gain worldwide control with promises of peace (Revelation 13:1; Daniel 9:27). He will be aided by another man, called the false prophet, who heads up a religious system that requires worship of the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20). The internet is full of speculations about the antichrist - he will be a Muslim, he will be Jew, he will be a gentile, he's already here, he's a spirit not a physical person, etc.. They're just speculations; no one really knows.

And the number 666 in the bible that Hollywood made movies about, is completely misunderstood. It is the number 6, emphasized 3 times, as was the emphasizing tradition in old days. And 6 in the Bible represents the human (or the unbelieving human). 7 represents God. So the antichrist, would be an unbelieving human with a number representation of 6.

8. A Possible Timeline of End-Times Events

There are several references in the Bible that talk about end-times events. These references have a lot of similarities between them, and correlate in some ways. Starting from all the way back in the old testament book of Daniel, through the new testament, and to the book of Revelations. But none are crystal-clear, with questionable timeline sequence - which part was before? and which was after?... Obviously God intended it this way. He chose not to give us the full description; He gave us some hints, to be clarified in the future at His chosen time.

And so, with room for speculation, you'll find a variety of opinions out there, particularly relating to the order of things. The list below shows one possible scenario of the main events related to end times, gathered from reading the Bible and researching on the internet.

Again, this is a best-guess timeline from the hints God gave us in the Bible:

The tribulation. 7 years in which God’s judgment is poured out on unbelievers whose sins have not been forgiven (Revelation 6:1–16:21).

The Antichrist appears on the scene. the Holy Spirit ("the one who holds it back") is no longer inside most people on earth: 2 Thessalonians 2:7: ... And then the lawless one will be revealed. Then a satanically empowered man will gain worldwide control with promises of peace (Revelation 13:1; Daniel 9:27). He will be aided by another man, called the false prophet, who heads up a religious system that requires worship of the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20).

The rapture. Jesus' return. True Christian believers, dead and alive, will be removed from earth.

The Battle of Gog and Magog. A great army from the north, in alliance with several other countries from the Middle East and Africa, attacks Israel (Ezekiel 38–39). Note, this happens after the Rapture. So all the noise on the internet and social media about the Russia - Ukraine war and the associated middle-eastern coalition etc. as the beginning of Gog and Magog, is not in line with the Bible prophesies. True Christian believers will not be here during the Gog and Magog war.

The Battle of Armageddon. Jesus returns with the armies of heaven (Mark 14:62). (Revelation 19:11–21). The Antichrist and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20).

Jesus' judgment of the nations. Christ will judge the survivors of the tribulation, separating the righteous from the wicked as “sheep” and “goats” (Matthew 25:31–46). (It is thought that at this time the Old Testament believers will be raised from the dead.) The righteous will enter the millennial kingdom, and the wicked will be cast into hell.

The 1,000-year reign of Christ. Jesus will rule the world, and Jerusalem will be the capital. This will be a 1,000-year period of peace and prosperity on earth (Revelation 20) and (Isaiah Chapters 60, 61, & 62). Satan will be bound and held in a bottomless pit for that 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1–3).

The Great White Throne Judgement. Aka Judgement Day, Revelation 20-11. All those in hell will be brought forth, and all the wicked from all eras of history will be resurrected to stand before God in a final judgment (Revelation 20:11–15) and (Daniel 12:1-13). The verdicts are read, and all of sinful humanity whose sins are not forgiven is cast into the lake of fire.

New heaven & new earth. God creates a new heaven and a new earth, Revelation 21:1-4.

9. Related Sections on How to Be Ready for the Rapture

9.1 The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood

Summary

Churches and theologians went in all kinds of wrong directions mis-interpreting the Lord's Prayer. The most essential part of God's new covenant had been ignored and destroyed over the years by completely missing the meaning! In this page I provide strong biblical references showing how precious every word in this prayer is, examples:

- "The daily Bread" - is the "Bread of life" that God gives, for the forgiveness of sins.

- "As we forgive those who trespass against us" - God means it! If we don't forgive, He won't forgive us!

- "Your kingdom come" - means "give us the Holy Spirit".

9.1.1 We Need the Bread of Life Daily to Always Remain Righteous in the Eyes of God

Praying the Lord's Prayer daily as Jesus commanded, will keep you ready for the rapture. We need the spiritual Bread of Life daily to always remain righteous in the eyes of God, receive His blessings, and truly be saved.

Question: Why did Jesus tell us to pray His prayer for the forgiveness of our sins daily? If we're covered by the blood, saved by grace, born again, and predestined, nothing else to do, why did He say to ask the Father for the forgiveness of our sins every day?

Answer: Our sins are forgiven only on a daily basis and when asked properly as Jesus commanded. Covered by the blood, saved by grace, and predestined, are only true if we've been praying the Lord's Prayer daily.

No blanket forgiveness for life! Yes Jesus paid the price once and for all, which meant no more sacrifices needed. But asking God for forgiveness of sins is still required daily, according to Jesus.

1 John‬ ‭2:4‬

“The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and yet doesn’t keep His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

The Lord's Prayer, from the Bible:

Matthew 6:9-13

Jesus said: This then, is how you should pray:

Our Father who are in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Three main problems with Christians and churches today:

Most think the "bread" is our earthly needs. It's not! The "Bread" is the spiritual Bread of life, for the forgiveness of sins. John 6:32 Jesus: "...my Father gives you the true Bread from heaven."
Most are not praying the Lord's Prayer "daily" as Jesus commanded, "Give us this day our daily Bread". The Bible says God renews us day by day. And He also desires to hear from us daily, and properly.
Protestants think this page is a Catholic thing and doesn't concern them. I want to cry! So many are lost! Protestant theologians explained this as, "Jesus meant it only for the Jewish people". But they missed this verse from Jesus, Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, ... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. "Go to all nations and teach them everything I commanded you!" But Protestant churches cannot obey this verse. Because to pray the Lord's Prayer daily would be contradicting to their "do nothing" theology!!

This part is 1 sentence, not 2:

“Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

There was no punctuation in the original Aramaic Bible version. Verse-numbering and punctuation were done later. And in this case, they were done based on the "bread" = earthly needs.

The forgiveness of sins is the result of receiving the Bread for that day!!! The Bread is Jesus Himself - the spiritual Bread of life that God gives:

John 6:32-35:

32 Jesus: "...my Father gives you the true Bread from heaven.

33 For the bread of God is the Bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this Bread.”

35 Then Jesus declared, “I am the Bread of life..."

If you're not praying this prayer with the Bread meaning the spiritual Bread of life for the forgiveness of sins, then you're just asking God for lunch! And you remain in your sins!

Jesus, God Himself in the flesh, comes to earth and walks among us, the grandest event in the history of humankind, and He teaches us how to pray for food?!! As in we didn't know how to ask God for food; He had to show us?!! And then most people ignored it as, "Jesus is showing us how to be humble and just ask for the basic necessities of life..." So most people and churches are not praying this prayer! Even the Catholic church, although they recite it in their sermon, would not acknowledge "the bread" = "the Bread of life". Obviously because, it makes it a DIY version of their Eucharist. Which would belittle their bishops' and priests' roles - if people can receive the Bread of life at home by directly praying to God, then they won't come to church and donate!

Covered by the blood, saved by grace, predestined, and born again, are only true if we've been praying the Lord's Prayer daily.

The Lord's Prayer daily is one of Jesus' commands. John 14:15: If you love me, keep my commands.

Jesus word-smithed the words in the Lord's Prayer perfectly. Which is consistent with what God did throughout history:

After the fall God was the One that taught Adam and Eve how to present a sacrifice fitting to Him so He could forgive their sins.
God was the One that crafted the Leviticus law to Moses that had to be executed precisely for the daily forgiveness of sins.
And finally God was the One that word-smithed the Lord’s Prayer for the daily forgiveness of sins.

The Lord's Prayer once a day is not a repetitive "babbling on" prayer. Look at what Jesus said:

Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Those who tell you this are still trying to defend their theology of not praying it!! This format of the Lord’s Prayer once a day, is 100% consistent with God’s previous plan for the Jews, which was animal sacrifice every day, which they also had to eat for the forgiveness of their sins. For thousands of years, every day, God had them repeat this same process daily. For what? For the forgiveness of their sins. And they did it! Without complaining!! And now, for us, Jesus' sacrifice is final.

But Jesus said in the Bible (not me), that His sacrifice turned into a Bread of life that we ask for daily. Then how did the people of today receive this amazing news? They don't want it! I keep getting emails from people complaining about it!! - "Do I have to keep saying the same words every day?!" and "Are you basing your whole website on the Lord's Prayer? Really?" Listen to me. God in the Bible is basing His whole redemption plan on the Lord's Prayer!! and I clarify accordingly!! I hear His words and I explain them, to those who have ears that hear.

Note, this clarification has nothing to do with the Catholic church Eucharist. The Catholic church confused people about this whole subject, monopolized the Bread of life, and made it a requirement to come to church to receive it through their Eucharist to boost donations. But Jesus offered it freely in His prayer! You don't need to chew on anything.

The Eucharist was meant as a "commemoration" of the Lord's last supper, NOT THE required steps for forgiveness of sins! Paul clarifies this throughout 1 & 2 Corinthians, and specifically in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.

9.1.1.1 So how Exactly do we Receive this "Bread of life"?

It is not actual bread to chew on, it is a spiritual Bread representing the physical suffering and death of Jesus' on the cross on our behalf. It is this part: "substitutionary death on our behalf" that mandates eating the "Bread of life" daily in order to receive the Holy Spirit daily - John 6:53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. We receive this Bread when we genuinely pray the Lord's Prayer and mean it correctly - when we mean it in our hearts that the Bread is indeed the "Bread of life", Jesus Himself for our forgiveness. This will "renew us day by day" 2 Corinthians 4:16. Which is the same way God commanded the Jewish priests, in the old covenant, to eat the sacrifice daily for the forgiveness of the people's sins. See my page on Christianity & Judaism - A Parallel.

The Lord's Prayer is at the center of God's redemption plan through Jesus. It is the final and simplest covenant spiritual-obligation outcome of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as compared to the previous old-covenant of hundreds of ceremonial commandments required daily to accomplish the same.

9.1.1.2 Other Confusions about the Daily Bread

Some say, "Jesus gave them this prayer before He died on the cross. So the "bread" couldn't possibly be His body at that point." Well, look closer. John Chapter 6, for example, the 2nd half of that chapter is all about Jesus telling people that they needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to be saved. And that was Jesus before He died. There is no before and after for God; He is "I Am". Sits outside of time.

Others say the "bread" means both earthly needs and spiritual needs. No it does not; trying to include more meanings into it, as in, one of them will hit it right, shows lack of knowledge of God! Only one meaning - the Bread is the body of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus always used the word "Bread" to mean His flesh. He would never instruct us to pray for earthly bread. Examples, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:31-33: “...don’t worry about earthly needs, but seek God first…”. And in John 6:26-27: "... Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you...". Also see all the Biblical references below, in this section.

And others say, "what's the difference? as long as we pray the prayer." There is a huge difference! Our spiritual communication with God is about what we mean. The words are meaningless unless we mean what they are in our hearts. Then others may say, "He didn't mean for us to use those exact words." Why would we change them? They look perfect to me; that prayer is perfectly complete in every way. I wouldn't change anything in it. If you put your human touch on it, you would certainly destroy it!

I hear some saying, "this prayer was given to the Jews; because Jesus and His disciples were Jews." True, but that was Christianity creation in progress. All of Jesus Christ's teachings are the basis for today's Christianity. See my page on Jesus for Jews & Paul for Gentiles?

9.1.2 Forgive Others - The Lord's Prayer Comes with a Non-Negotiable Condition

More evidence that lip-service faith is not it. If we don't forgive others, God WILL NOT forgive us our sins!! Jesus did not just casually tell us to pray His prayer, he went on stressing that if we don't forgive others then God would not forgive us. Implying that the Bread of life would be withheld even if praying the Lord's Prayer daily! The prayer specifically says to forgive others, then Jesus re-stressed it in this verse:

Matthew 6:14-15

For if you forgive other people when they trespass against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Notes: Only one condition - we must forgive others!! Notice how loving our God is! He did not give us harsh conditions like "refrain from this or that!" He just wanted us to forgive others. Of course, He wants us to repent of our sins and He will forgive us, but He singled-out this one common human behavior as a non-negotiable condition. Every day we're not forgiven, we distance ourselves from God. And when we distance ourselves from God, we will not receive His blessings. The longer we go without forgiveness, the worse it gets.

No wonder there is no peace on earth! All we have today is Christianity people's way, not God's way!!

Why would anyone want to pray to Mary and other humans? Why is this prayer not preached in churches today? Why do we ignore Jesus, OUR GOD, and not pray it daily?

9.1.3 The Overlooked Commandment

God in His infinite wisdom did not give us a simple fully explained Bible written in precise chronology etc. Instead, He kept it gray - Jesus spoke in parables giving hints of what He meant without giving the full message. Old Testament prophets embedded crucial messages within long chapters of prophesying. Example Isaiah would include 2 sentences about the Messiah in a completely unrelated paragraph (example, they pierced His hands). God chose to make us work for it:

Proverbs 8:17

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

And Jesus gave us enough hints to interpret the Lord's Prayer properly!! We must forget the years of church brainwashing. Set that aside for a moment and look close at all the undisputable Bible references I provided here. Your church did not go there because it contradicts their theology!! Act wisely before you send yourself to hell.

Jesus commanded us to pray this prayer daily as God's new covenant. It does not matter when He did it or to whom He gave it. This is GOD! telling us what to do to be reconciled with Him on a daily basis, and truly be saved!!

9.1.4 Your Kingdom Come

"Your Kingdom Come" = "Give Us the Holy Spirit"

God gives us the Holy Spirit on a daily basis! Before you frown on this because your church does not explain it this way, take a moment to look at the strong Bible references I provide here.

Jesus explained it a few verses after His prayer in Luke:

Luke 11:13

Jesus said: "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

Notes: Jesus said this right after he taught them His prayer in Luke 11:2-4. So, God is giving the Holy Spirit, “to those who ask Him”. This is how we become filled with the Holy Spirit; it's daily!! And only when we ask!!! No wonder no one is filled with the Holy Spirit anymore!

2 Corinthians 4:16

Paul said: …our inner person is being renewed day by day.

Notes: "Our inner person" is the Holy Spirit!! We receive Him day by day!! How? By praying to God and asking for Him, daily!

This also correlates with the "deliver us from evil" part at the end, which makes the entirety of the Lord's Prayer as saying - don't let evil find room in us, but instead fill us with the Holy Spirit. God chose to do this on a "daily" basis.

Here is another reference where Jesus refers to the "Kingdom of God" with 2 meanings - (1) "as something to receive" and (2) "as a place to enter":

‭‭Luke‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬

“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.””

Jesus explained the term "Kingdom of God" in several different situations, contexts, and parables. So yes, it is not a simple term with a simple meaning. Jesus gave several parables explaining it. One of those meanings was always when He Himself was there - He would say, "the Kingdom of God has come near." So, the Kingdom of God can also be used to mean any of the 3 persons of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, either in unison or individually. Example in this verse when He sent the 72, filled with the Holy Spirit, to perform miracles and drive out demons:

Luke 10:8-9

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.'

The Holy Spirit - one of His roles as revealed to us, is to reside in bodies as a representation of God within us. Jesus used this exact meaning of "Kingdom of God" = "the Holy Spirit" within us, here:

Luke 17:20-21

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.'

9.1.5 Lead Us Not Into Temptations

We ask You not to test us by leading us into temptation, which may cause us to ignore the Holy Spirit and allow worldly spirits in instead.

God may choose to test us, by "leading us into temptation". Our life on earth is test ground for God. He started testing people all the way back at Adam and Eve times. He put the tree there and led them into temptation. The devil in a snake form tempted them, and they failed; fell into his trap.

How do I know this is the meaning of this sentence? I diligently study the Bible. God even tempted His own Son. The strongest biblical evidence to the meaning of the term "lead us not into temptation" is here:

Matthew 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

If you read the rest of Matthew chapter 4, you'll see the devil luring Jesus into all kinds of earthly temptations for agreeing to worshiping him. Very similar to the Adam and Eve story. This was God, "the Spirit", "leading Jesus into temptation!" - So "a Holy God does not lead people into temptation?" Think again, He does. If He did it to His own Son, He'll do it to you. Jesus did not fall in the devil's trap, but we likely would! So pray that God does not lead you into temptation.

According to this sentence in the Lord's Prayer, it seems that if we genuinely ask God not to lead us into temptation, that He may not. Trust me you don't want God to lead you into temptation! The devil is capable of spiritually destroying even the best of us.

Temptation = the temptation to leave God and join the world and its ungodly ways.

Everybody connects this with sins of the flesh, that is not correct. According to the Bible, it is about the temptations of leaving God and joining the devil, usually unintentionally or without knowing it. It is about temptations of ignoring the Holy Spirit and making room for the worldly spirits, which may eventually lead to atheism. Another reason for this meaning is because "but deliver us from evil" comes right after this.

God is not majorly concerned with our sins of the flesh because as long as we stay with Him, He can forgive us those. He is most concerned about us leaving Him, example, eventually becoming Atheist. If we start slowly wandering into the evil ways of this world - riches and worries of life, and the social media influence of today. A person can deteriorate into leaving God eventually. This is the major concern of God. He gives us a 100-year lifespan to choose to converge on Him, not diverge away.

Jesus used the term "fall into temptation" in another place, which helps us understand the meaning better.

Matthew 26:40-41

Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation...”

Obviously, Jesus here did not instruct Peter to guard from temptation of sins of the flesh. He asked him to keep praying to remain 100% focused on God in this crucial hour Jesus was going through. However, they did fall into temptation later; Peter for example giving into the worldly scene around him, denied Jesus 3 times shortly after!

This is why we renew our pledge to God daily in this part of the prayer, mainly to also remind ourselves of where we stand - with God. Summarizing in other words, this term means: "help us stay away from the spiritual temptation of ignoring the Holy Spirit and getting lost in worldly things."

Some so called "Bible scholars" like to get into long pages about the philosophies of "a Holy God does not 'lead' people into evil ..." Stay away from that. The meaning of the prayer is mostly understood now. Just remember that not all difficult parts in the Bible are answered. This does not mean that it's ok for us to get into super speculative mode of trying to answer when God did not make it clear. We have to remember that we seek Him and learn about Him. And He promised to show more of Himself to us. So, let's keep doing that, and not get ahead of ourselves with speculations.

9.1.6 The Complete Lord's Prayer Explanation Summary

Our Father who are in heaven:

Getting God's attention with a respectful parental term of endearment.

Hollowed be Your Name:

May Your name always be Holy and respected.

Your Kingdom come:

Give us the Holy Spirit to reside within us. (Interpretation unknown to most)

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven:

We submit to your will.

Give us this day our daily Bread and forgive us our sins:

Give us our daily "Bread of Life" for the forgiveness of sins, so we "wash our robes" and become "righteous." (Interpretation unknown to most)

As we forgive those who trespass against us:

Acknowledging that unless we forgive others, we would not be forgiven. Meaning we would not become "righteous" for that day and would not receive the Holy Spirit. (Interpretation unknown to most)

Lead us not into temptation:

We ask You not to test us by leading us into temptation, which may cause us to ignore the Holy Spirit and allow worldly spirits in instead. (Interpretation unknown to most)

But deliver us from evil:

Keep evil away from us. Don't let it find room in us, or grab hold within us, but instead fill us with the Holy Spirit.

So you want to use your own wording?

And thinking, "Surely God did not want us to recite these exact same words every day?":

As you can see in the summary above, the prayer is loaded with precious meanings directed to God. Every word in this prayer is perfectly word-smithed by Jesus, so that "He remains in us and we remain in Him". Without these exact prayer-words we'd be leaves on the Vine that wither and die (spiritually), as Jesus explained in His parable. We need to learn that Christianity is not "be creative" and "anything goes". God demands respect. He commanded to pray this prayer. You ignore it and get creative, shows arrogance - makes you the opposite of the humble person God is interested in.

Which of the words do you want to modify? Or find synonyms for and say differently?

Or which part of the prayer do you want to omit today? You see, you cannot receive God's Kingdom (the Holy Spirit) for today, unless your sins have been forgiven through the Bread of life?

And you will not be forgiven of your sins unless you forgive others!

How do YOU prefer to say it? Anything you answer this question with, will make you an arrogant person not genuinely seeking God. But rather seeking to look sophisticated and different, so people admire you. The focus is on God, not on you! And God loves the prayer exactly as it is.

We need not think of this prayer as a legal requirement, as in the law of Moses. It is rather a "pure love" prayer, and "proper worship" directed to our heavenly Father. It is the minimum we should do, springing from within as a true believer, to obey Jesus' commands.

9.1.7 Closing Notes

This is a pivotal change in the way the Lord's Prayer has been taught. It now takes on a whole different meaning - we spiritually receive the Bread of life when we ask for it daily, so He remains in us and we remain in Him John 15:5, renewed day by day 2Corinthians 4:16, and we all share the one loaf 1Corinthians‬ ‭10:17. With this understanding putting us back on track with God, so many other verses in the New Testament fit perfectly. All we have to do is say this prayer in our hearts once a day, then we will spiritually receive the "daily Bread of life", be blessed in our life on earth, and saved to eternal life. It is spiritual sustenance.

Churches went down all kinds of wrong paths and missed this most important command from Jesus. They chose instead to pray to Mary, do-nothing "by faith alone", or God already mysteriously picked people!! It's going to be a while before people realize the significance of this Bread-meaning correction. It is going to rattle the foundations of many churches of today, both Catholic and Protestant. Hundreds of years of false teaching on the Lord's Prayer subject. Hundreds of years of telling people anything and everything except pray the Lord's Prayer daily. How could we have possibly missed this? Christian theology colleges and hundreds of years of studying and preaching in churches. But no one saw this? The Bible references shown below, are not hard to find. What are people studying in those Seminary colleges, and in Catholic theology schools? This prayer is the very heart of God's redemption plan through Jesus!!

Are you thinking "this interpretation of the Lord's Prayer can't possibly be right; could it possibly be that churches and millions of people have missed this truth for hundreds of years?" Yes, it is very possible. Don't look at people around you; look at God in the Bible. It is not about how many intelligent people were involved. The question is, who had wisdom from God? Here is a nice, related story about Elijah in this link on my website. And also consider this reference:

Matthew 7:13-4

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Notes: What is the "narrow gate that leads to life"? It means only a small percentage of people are truly seeking God, and will make it into heaven. Are you in that number? Don't be angry with me for pointing this out. All I'm doing is poke everybody to look again. Herd mentality is the "wide gate", it is not the way to God.

Churches went down all kinds of wrong paths and missed this most important command from Jesus: pray the Lord's Prayer daily!

This section is continued with more Bibe references and my notes, in The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

Are We True Christian?

9.2 Are We True Christians?

Summary: This is a Bible study. Comparing churches' doctrines and teachings to the Bible, I find all churches are severely deficient, and producing spiritually dead people. I urge you to temporarily set aside what you learned in your church and open your heart to these biblical truths. So many people are misled by their church! My only bias is towards God. My wisdom comes from God, not from earthly organizations or church denominations.

The majority of Christians today are not true Christians, because they're running Christianity their way, not God's way.

Most "Christians" today are one of these:

Praying to Mary and saints to intercede.

They don't know God!

"By faith alone" - ignoring Jesus' commands.

They don't know the other side of the Bible.

God already mysteriously selected people.

They don't know God!

No wonder there is no peace on earth, which is also why Jewish people are mocking us and are still waiting for the "true messiah" to come!!

After years of attending churches followed by years of diligently seeking God in the Bible, I realized how far off we all are. I documented my notes of how to be Christians as God intended, here: How to Be True Christians and here: The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

I'm not selling anything! It is all out of love for God and for all people on earth.

Let's start with the church leaders and so-called "christian theologians" of today, our supposed role-models and top decision-makers on doctrines and theology. It is obvious none of them are true believers; none are filled with the Holy Spirit. Yes, a bold claim; how dare I say this? Here's why:

John 14:12-14

Jesus: Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

If the pope or the most devout protestant church leader walks into a hospital, can they heal anybody in the name of Jesus? No. Can they put their hand on a child in wheelchair and make her walk? No. And yet they are the top decision-makers on doctrines, theology, and what to teach people!! And people are still in churches listening to their misleading teaching and false doctrines! It is true we are called to obey our spiritual leaders, but only when they are preaching true biblical doctrines!!

Each church-denomination preaches from their side of the Bible, limiting it to verses that support their individual theologies, and ignoring the rest of thousands of pages opposing to them.

Hebrews 13:17? Paul meant "obey the Godly leaders", not the ungodly ones! If you are truly seeking God and His kingdom, then seek God on your own or with a small group. More details here How to Be True Christians. Whether you like it or not, it's fast becoming the way of the future.

If you're attached to your church, and you ARE a true Christian, then it is your duty towards God and your true faith to alert your church. Show them this website, press them to change their ways and become more in line with the Bible, or detach from their denomination. Don't just stand there and pray hail Mary with them, or quietly listen to their lip-service-faith preaching. God IS alive and can see you doing this!

I am a simple "Christian believer", not belonging to any church denomination. My only bias is towards God, no hidden motives. The Christian body of today is spiritually crippled, because it is formed of many contradicting denominations, and many are not “seeking God”. They're mostly businesses and social settings that people enjoy being at. But seeking of God is nowhere to be found!

For Jesus, the "church" is the Christian body of genuine believers, to be led by Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit within us.

When He told Peter he was the rock to build His church on, He meant Peter was the role model for Christians to follow. So, we don't need an earthly church leader, because Jesus Himself is the leader of the church, consisting of genuine Christian believers filled with the Holy Spirit. Continued with supporting Bible references here: How to Be True Christians.

9.2.1 Comparison of Christian Leaders' Accomplishments, Then and Now

Disciples & Apostles' accomplishments, then:

Preached the Word correctly? Yes

Laid their hands on sick people and healed them? Yes

Laid their hands on crippled people and made them walk? Yes

Brought dead people back to life?! (Peter and Paul did!) Yes

Paul accidentally picked up a venomous snake and it did not harm him.

Number of changes in God's realm: 0 - As it should be!

Having dedicated every moment of their lives to this, they were poor and homeless, with barely enough to eat. 💝

Church leaders' accomplishments, since then:

Preached the Word correctly? No
- Protestants brain-washed people into doing nothing, and just keep saying these words: born-again, saved by the blood, saved by Grace.
- Catholics brain-washed their people into praying to Mary and saints to intercede with God.
- Calvinists brain-washed their people into "God already decided; it's all His will, we have no say". Anything else is "devil doctrines".

And the resulting number of miracles performed in the name of Jesus: 0

Number of dead people brought back to life: 0

Number of changes in God's realm: 2 - Horrible & blasphemous
- The Pope seated Mary next to God in heaven as God's mother.
- The Pope created a mini-Hell (aka, Purgatory) to process certain type sins after death and provide a path to heaven, that Jesus didn't/couldn't provide.

Any church leaders homeless or hungry? No, they improved some on that.
- Protestants stressed the need to tithe 10% - Church leaders are Millionaires with private jets.
- Catholic churches collected donations and sent to the Vatican. The Vatican's worth is in $trillions. It's an organized spiritual mafia.

Each church-denomination preaches from their side of the Bible, limiting it to verses that support their individual theologies, and ignoring the rest of thousands of pages opposing to them.

If you're attached to your church, and you ARE a true Christian, then it is your duty towards God and your true faith to alert your church. Show them this website, press them to change their ways and become more in line with the Bible, or detach from their denomination. Don't just stand there and pray hail Mary with them, or quietly listen to their "by faith alone and nothing else" preaching. God IS alive and can see you doing this!

God never intended for us to have all these contradicting denominations, but rather one Christian body of believers. Did you know there are 41,000 Christian denominations today? What is God's view on all this? Here's what the Bible says:

Matthew 18:20

Jesus said: "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."

Matthew 16:18

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The 2 or 3 gathering in Jesus' name would be one example of that church. If the 2 or 3 are gathered truly in His name, then God would not mislead them or give each group of 2 or 3 different interpretations of the scriptures. So only one explanation, leaders in church-denominations are not truly filled with the Holy Spirit. This is why people need to be on their guard, and not blindly follow their church. It is our eternity we're talking about; are you willing to take a chance with earthly loyalties? There is no "oops" later; no changing your mind after death!

Most people in church-denominations behave as in a war - "us and them", rather than acting like the Godly people they claim to be, loving one another, and truly seeking God! Protestants, Catholics, and Calvinists went far apart in their interpretations. Protestants don't do what Catholics do, and vv.. Is this Godly? They each have some good interpretations and some not so good. But each denomination's members are loyal to their church as if they got everything 100% right (sort of like Republicans and Democrats).

For Jesus, the "church" is the Christian body of genuine believers, led by Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit within us.

When He told Peter he was the rock to build His church on, He meant Peter was the role model He intended for Christians to follow. So, we don't need an earthly church leader, because Jesus Himself is the leader of the church consisting of genuine Christian believers filled with the Holy Spirit, and with one interpretation of the Bible - Continued with supporting Bible references here: How to Be True Christians.

9.2.2 The Deficiencies in Church-Denominations

Trying to be fair here and listing some good for each. But mainly focusing on the deficiencies and abuses of God's scripture.

Protestants

(Including Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, etc.)

I listened to Charles Stanley's weekly sermon for 30 years, and Chuck Swindoll's for a number of years. The parts of the Bible they preach, they preach very, very well. And the parts of the Bible they avoid, they avoid very, very cleverly!! Never did either of them touch on the verses highlighted here below. They only preach from one side of the Bible; the side that agrees with their lip-service-theology theology! And ignore the rest:

Saved, nothing else to do - The bible is full of verses and parables about spiritual maturity, but all ignored by protestant churches! Why? To please people with the "do nothing" message. They stick to the high-level verses in the Bible, please the people, and collect donations. See my page on What Does "Believe in Jesus" Really Mean? for more shocking truths.

Impossible to become unsaved - Protestants spend whole sermons on "once saved always saved", ignoring the many parables from Jesus about becoming rejected and sent to hell if you're not growing spiritually. Examples, John 15:6 "branches that wither and die", Luke 13:6 "cut the fig tree down", and Matthew 25:30 "cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness". See my page, By Faith Alone? for detailed Bible references.

By Faith Alone? Protestants ignore the Bible saying that this meant "no added works of the flesh"! Instead, they call it: "By faith alone and nothing else, nothing, nothing else at all, nothing at all". And of course, Catholics on the other extreme side added purgatory conditions etc. Protestants and Catholics are both extremely lost!! They both modified Paul's words in the Bible to fit their theologies, but no one knew that it's also clearly stated in other parts of the Bible as "by faith alone and no added works of the flesh". Example, Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭5‬-‭7‬, 15:11‬“... the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” … Peter got up and addressed them: ... No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are… By faith alone means we still have to learn Jesus' commands and keep them! Spiritual maturity is not "works of the flesh", seeking God in the Bible is not "works of the flesh", and praying the Lord's Prayer daily as He commanded is not "works of the flesh"! More details in my page By Faith Alone?

Refuse to pray the Lord's Prayer - The key part of God's salvation!! They utterly refuse to pray it in their sermons, and never encourage their members to pray it daily as Jesus commanded. Why? 3 reasons: (1) Because Catholics pray this prayer! (2) They call it "repetitive works" - it's a burden to have to pray it daily; contradicting to their "do nothing" "by faith alone" theology. And (3) their arrogant theologians decided Jesus meant it only for the Jewish people. They connected it to the manna from Moses, or some worthless explanation like that. They decided, and that's their final answer - But you stopped seeking God! Go back and look!! You messed up big on this one!!! You're not covered by the blood, nor saved by grace; you're spiritually dead, unless you pray the Lod's Prayer daily - we need the Bread of life daily. There is one new covenant from God, not two - not one for Jews and one for gentiles?!! See my page on The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood for eye-opening Bible references.

Pentecostals? They're just Protestants, equally lost with the same by-faith-alone theology but kicked-up a few notches with energy and charisma. And people flock there like they flock to the newest restaurant in town! Making a lot of noise jumping up and down and waving hands, does not mean the Holy Spirit is anywhere near there. It is not a sports game. The Holy Spirit is given by God to those who obey Him:

Acts 5:32 ...the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. This clearly means not jumping up and down, not waving hands, not making noise, not faking speaking in tongue, and not faking miracles!!! It means first learn Jesus' commands and keep them. If you truly know Jesus' commands? you wouldn't be doing this. I don't say this to criticize everybody. I say it to make those who genuinely care, look closer at the Bible. Don't just join the charismatic crowd.

Must tithe the whole 10% - Protestants would spend a whole sermon on the subject of tithing; digging up verses all the way back from Leviticus and making sure that people tithe the full 10% of their income, not 9% or 8% because "they'd be stealing from God." But the Lord's Prayer? "Jesus meant that for the Jews." When in fact the 10% amount of tithing was the one meant only for the Jews, for their 11 to 1 tribes' ratio! Tithing was later modified by Paul in the New Testament to: "Any gift is good" Philippians 4:14-17. See section below on Still Tithing 10%?

Solely going by Paul's message as the one for the gentiles, and ignoring the fact that God gave us 1 new-covenant not 2!! Protestants have missed the mark by a mile. Most brush off discrepancies between Jesus' message and Paul's as something like: "Jesus meant that for the Jews; Paul's message was for the gentiles who became Christians later..." This is so dangerous on so many levels, disrespectful to God, and causing spiritual-death to so many people! Those churches missed the following scripture from Jesus after His resurrection talking to His Jewish disciples:

Matthew 28:17-20

... Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Notes: "...go to all nations... and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you." That is "teach all nations everything Jesus commanded His Jewish disciples". Any church who preaches otherwise, makes it no different than the Pharisees who crucified Jesus despite knowing He was the Messiah. All of Jesus/God's teachings are for all people, not just the Jews. And Paul's teachings are a supplement to Jesus'. Any discrepancy between Paul's and Jesus' messages was because Paul's were high-level because the 4 books of the New Testament were not written yet! See my page on Jesus for Jews & Paul for Gentiles?

Giant Screens & Loud Music, But No Seeking of God - The focus shifted to big screens, loud music, and waving of hands. When instead it should be on seeking God and His kingdom. Even if we spend every moment of our lives seeking God in the scriptures, we'd barely scratch the surface. But churches went off with what pleases people!! And the sermon preaching is always yearly-rotating the same simple, safe, and unoffending subjects. No preaching on Jesus parables that contradict their theology!! Nor on "politically incorrect" subjects of today's culture; careful not to upset people and lose donations.

Immoral scandals - Like other denominations, lacking sound teaching, and not filled with the Holy Spirit, many Protestant church leaders are often in the news with some form of a public immorality. Here's today's.

Catholic Church (including Greek Orthodox)

I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic schools and the rest. So, I know Catholicism inside and out, and I can write a hundred books on the subject.

They got the Nicene Creed right. They pray the Lord's Prayer in their sermons, although they don't mean it right. Other than these, everything else they do is problematic! And even blasphemous!! The Catholic church and their side-kick the Orthodox church teachings, for hundreds of years, have been mostly unbiblical. And the people following them are duped by the grand display of authority, and are being misled!

The root cause of the mess in Catholic & Orthodox churches is this: They don't know that God does not use "sin" as the measure of our "righteousness" - they're still canonizing "sinless" saints!! And the message to people is, minimize your sins to maximize your chances for heaven.

Here's one verse in the Bible that explains why this thinking is wrong:

Matthew 5:20 Jesus: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

The Jewish scribes and Pharisees were the role model in perfection and living sinless all their lives. But Jesus told them it's not good enough!! He specifically said, "you will never enter heaven"! He said we need to exceed that level of sinless perfection! How do we achieve that? We do by getting renewed day by day through praying the Lord's Prayer daily. The "righteousness" achieved through receiving the Bread of life daily, is impossible to achieve any other way!! See The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

Canonization of Saints - An unbiblical doctrine. A process where the pope and cardinals anoint so called "saints", based on investigations into their lives and determining that they were sinless. Which is contradicting to the Bible teachings and the whole sin-redemption sacrifice of Jesus. The process is mostly political. They try to satisfy all countries by canonizing a saint from each. Some churches around the world take it a step further and use sensational tricks like mummifying the "saint", showing blood still oozing out of their body, and putting him/her on public display!!!

Pray to saints - The Vatican canonize them, and people pray to them! Some get on their knees before the statue of so and so, and others lay face down at the feet of another. The church is not doing anything to stop it - being careful not to upset people (where donations come from), but is ok with upsetting God!

The Vatican's difficult process to become a "saint" got the Catholic people thinking, "if it is that impossible to become a 'saint' and get into heaven, then there is no hope for me. Thus, the only remaining way for me is to pray to the 'virgin Mary' and to those 'saints'!!!" Catholics think that turning to Mary and saints is the same as turning to God via these people. They ignore the Bible saying, Jesus is the only mediator (1Timothy 2:5) who's sacrifice is sufficient for them to become true saints! I am extremely sad! So many innocent people are/were lost, including my own parents and ancestors. Misled by the church!!

Mary the mother of God?! As in higher level than God?! And can influence His decision like she did in the "Wedding at Cana"?! What I find most puzzling is that Catholics and Orthodox make the biggest celebration on Easter commemorating Jesus' rising from the dead and the forgiveness of sins, and with the same breath declare that the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was not sufficient to forgive all their sins!!! particularly the sexual sins. They felt they needed to turn to the "virgin" Mary and the "sinless" Saints to beg God for them. This is not Christianity!! it's something else! Matthew 15:8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. My Catholic relatives keep pressing me to read a book about all the miracles of Mary. It is a hopeless situation 😪. Continued in my page on Mary the Mother of God?

Little to no spiritual growing - The Catholic church is still running with their antiquated plan since the 3rd century: The church (its priests), supposedly study the Bible, then turn around and teach it to the people who are illiterate and can't read or understand the difficulty of the Bible for themselves." Maybe this was acceptable in 300AD, but now in 2023, I think we can do it ourselves and don't need bishops anymore. We have no excuse not to, except laziness.

No Seeking of God as Jesus Commanded - People don't read the Bible - instead they look to the priests. And the Priests don't read the Bible - A church priest behaves more like a social worker - he doesn't have time to read the Bible. He learned it in theology school? No, all he learned there was about how to run a Catholic mass. If people have difficult Bible questions, they usually ask the priest. And the priest usually does not know. Because all he knows is what to do in the repetitive activities of sermons. The usual Catholic sermon Bible reading time is nice stories from the New Testament. Followed by a message from the priest about "let's all be good and nice".

The Lord's Prayer not interpreted right - The Catholic church would not acknowledge "the Bread" = "the Bread of life". Obviously, because it makes it a DIY version of their Eucharist. Which would belittle their bishops' and priests' roles - if people can receive the Bread of life at home by directly praying to God, then they won't come to church and donate! Is the Catholic church thinking from God's perspective here? Or their financial perspective? see my page on The Lord's Prayer is Severely Misunderstood.

Purgatory (Catholics only) Another unbiblical doctrine created by the Vatican. It is a kind of a mini hell, "required for those sins that Jesus' sacrifice did not cover"! It is a result of misunderstanding some verses in the Bible: ‭1 John‬ ‭5:16-17‬ and ‭‭Mark‬ ‭3:28-30‬. They took these 2 references and extrapolated a whole doctrine. All because Jesus used the term "will not be forgiven in the next age" related to the "unforgivable sin of the spirit". I have a good explanation on my page: Purgatory?

Confessions! - People confess their sins to a priest. Then based on the number of death-sins and not-death-sins they committed, the priest determines how many times they should repeat the hail-Mary prayer as a penalty for their sins in order to become forgiven, but no guarantee on the death-sins - they may need Purgatory for those! So people spend their lives aware and afraid of the Purgatory time they have coming to them! Some even think Purgatory takes place before death; depending on how much the person suffers before they die!!

The Vatican - A hierarchy of people with glittery costumes and props - They're more concerned with levels and appearance than with substance, in-line with Jewish temples and Pharisees. ... instead of spending their time on seeking God in the scriptures to revisit their ungodly doctrines and see if just in case, ... just in case they messed up! But no, like the rest of churches, they created their niche and cookie-cutters, and are marching forward.

Wrong people in charge - The pope is constantly in the news making some political statements, announcing "sweeping reforms" (to please the people of course), and taking the church further away from God. These people at the Vatican since the 4th century cannot possibly be the ones that Jesus meant to hand the church to. It was true in the early church days when He handed it to Peter who witnessed His miracles, and was truly filled with the Holy Spirit. But it's been going downhill since, as human nature takes over.

Sex abuse scandals - The Catholic church over the years, lacking sound biblical truths, has been riddled with sex abuse scandals, almost daily stories in the news, here's today's. Catholics are quick to defend it as just news propaganda against the church. Well then what about this? The pope apologized in the news for the sex scandals here.

Calvinists

"Watch out and be on your guard for the yeast of the" Calvinists. So I reused Jesus' words here (as in Matthew 16:6). I'm sure Jesus won't mind.

Giving a quick summary on this subject for those who don't know. Christianity today can be sliced in many different ways in terms of Bible interpretation, one example is the different church-denominations out there. But at a higher layer, there is a fork-in-the-road disagreement on one subject:

Calvinist: God predestined us for His mysterious reasons, before creation. We have no say.

Arminian: We have the free-will to choose God's grace or reject it. It's our free-will decision.

Calvinist Doctrine Summary: Based on some verses in the Bible that contain these words "Elect" and "Predestined for His pleasure" and a few other verses that allude to them, the Calvinist church built a whole doctrine around that, ignoring the rest of the thousands of verses in the Bible that say otherwise, and preaching that God is the one who "elects" us based on His mysterious reasons. The Calvinist doctrine states that we have no say in it, no matter what we do. Which makes us mere robots; and which is the complete opposite of what the God we know, would do! The Calvinist doctrine, being human-limited-thinking at its best, cannot see that God is not in our space-time continuum. God is "I Am"; He foresaw us before creation. Romans 8:29 "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son". God foreknew our tendencies first, then destined second! I am very sad for the people following the Calvinist church. They are so misled.

The line that separates Calvinists from Arminians is "free will". Calvinists say we don't have free will; God decides everything. Arminians say we have free will, and we decide to accept God's Grace or not.

I listened to RC Sproul's sermon for a couple of years and read one of the Calvinist books. So, I am qualified to say a few things about Calvinists:

Do nothing, God already decided based on His mysterious reasons - Calvinists are even worse than the regular Protestants, in the "do nothing" message. They take it a step further to tell their members that no matter what they do, God already decided who will be saved and who won't. Calvinists don't encourage reading the Bible either. They do however encourage to read some books from famous Calvinist leaders!

God's election decision is Unconditional - ignoring the many Bible statements from Jesus/God saying things like, "if you love me, I will love you back..." and "if you obey my commands, you will be my people..." But Unconditional is the only way the Calvinist doctrine can hold. If God's predestination was conditional, their whole doctrine would crumble.

Scripture meaning manipulated - They also try to put words in the scripture's mouth; make it seem that "the Bible did not really intend to say 'that', but rather it meant to tell us 'this'..." For example they teach: "any biblical reference to 'the whole world' actually means 'the whole world of the Elect', not the actual whole world." I can understand human incompetency can lead to misinterpretations, but this? I don't see how their church members can swallow it! And sometimes the meaning is manipulated to accommodate certain psychological human behavior...You get the picture. They're in the same league with Mormons, Jehovah's witnesses, etc..

Violent Internet Forums - I see thousands of violent internet forums and debates raging on between "Calvinists" and "Arminians". So much time and effort wasted. People treating this like a sports game; who will win? When instead, we should all be Christians, and direct our efforts to seeking God. But the competitive-sports-minded people, which we have ample supply of in this country, chose to run with it for the win.

A Calvinist saw my post on one of the forums about the Lord's Prayer. He replied "I see you so arrogantly state this. What makes you think that God would change His plan because of your praying?" Whether the Calvinist church taught him this or not is irrelevant. The problem is, this is what their people think!!!

And in a separate forum a Calvinist was mistaken for an Arminian. He replied: "heavens I am no Arminian. the doctrine of human freewill is Satan's no.1 deception in my mind and the mainspring from which flows salvation by works and conditional salvation [probation] oh no no I am not an Arminian." I'm guessing this person left the Catholic church and became Calvinist, because of this: "conditional salvation probation", which is purgatory. So he left a bad church for a worse one!

9.2.3 Calling All Christians

Calling all Christians who genuinely care. Churches made a mockery of God's word!! Do you know what all this means? A partially good church is not good at all!! Preaching partial truth means people are lost; not saved! They are producing spiritually dead people!! They perverted God's word and made a mockery of it!! Millions of innocent people are spiritually lost. Which is fulfilling Jesus' "wide gate" verse in Matthew 7:13-14.

A partially good church is not good at all!! Their spiritual food is poisoned with their inefficiencies and bad doctrines.

If you believe your church is great and want to stay with them, show them this page. Let them know they need to revisit their teaching to make it in-line with the Bible! Have them forward it to their theologians, Vatican, and seminary colleges. Or they can separate from their denomination and simply become a true Christian church.

Sure we can go back to church buildings, if we can un-claw the ungodly leaders robbing people both spiritually and financially.

9.2.4 If by miracle of God churches agreed to change, here's the biblical way

All churches should start their sermons with the Lord's Prayer and teach people to pray it daily with the "bread" = "Bread of life" for forgiveness. Then you become saved! First meet God's requirements, then do your other fluff, hymns, loud music, and "eloquent" speeches.

Protestants:

Mature spiritually by seeking God in the whole Bible - The bible reading needs to get into those parts contradicting to your "by faith alone" theology! And properly explain them that there are Jesus commands that need to be obeyed daily!! You can become unsaved if you don't!

Downsize your seminary colleges and let go the useless theology professors. They're not Godly; how could they have missed all these truths!!

No more pushing for 10% tithing! Any gift is good as the apostle Paul said. Get rid of your Business Development people.

THIS IS A HOUSE OF GOD!!

Catholics:

Your mass needs to change from 90% "repetitive stuff stand-up sit-down incense", to 90% Bible reading. Sure you'll lose people, but you'll gain God. The ones that leave are in it for the tradition's aspect of it, not Godly people.

The pope should reverse all unbiblical doctrines, starting with "Mary the mother of God" and "Purgatory"! And stop the unbiblical "canonization of saints"! All true believers who pray the Lord's Prayer daily are righteous in the eyes of God and are called saints.

I actually believe if the pope does do this, a mob of people would attack the Vatican and destroy it. Therefore, he won't - it's a blind leading the blind.

Calvinists:

Ignore your "respected" Calvinist book authors! READ ONLY THE BIBLE!!

TULIP? We can't make a "cookie-cutter" out of God's scripture! We have to keep seeking God, learning, and maturing.

9.2.5 Churches Are Businesses

They call themselves non-profit, but in reality they're high-profit. It is acceptable to collect tithes and donations from the people, but only when teaching sound doctrines from the Bible. Not when misleading them!

John 21:17

Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” ...Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.”

But churches are not feeding the sheep with proper truths. And still charging them tithes and donations.

Shortly after the disciples and Paul's generation died off, churches' spiritual quality went downhill. Not surprising; they even went downhill in-between Paul's visits to those churches in his days: Galatians 1:6, I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

The real objective of churches is money, not God, as evident in these public facts:

Seminary college graduates find high-paying jobs at churches.

Bankers estimate the Vatican's wealth between $10 billion and $15 billion and some think it's $ trillions.

Catholic churches around the world send money to the Vatican! It's an organized spiritual mafia. Sure the Vatican has charity programs, but bankers estimate those to be "a drop in the bucket" compared to the church's wealth. Btw, if you check public records, you'll find that the Vatican's wealth doubled shortly after their 1950 official announcement of Mary's ascension to heaven! It's a business - please the people and collect more donations.

Catholic church doctrines keep changing according to what people like to hear, instead of truly seeking God.

Nobody is Seeking God! How else can we explain why no one is truly filled with the Holy Spirit anymore? You ask, "how do you know no one is?" where are the miracles? Truly filled with the Holy Spirit = miracles, as in the days of Paul and the disciples. Here's the reason why: Many church leaders today are millionaires. This is usually the objective of theology graduates.

It's time for people to be vigilant about their spiritual status and their eternity. And not rely on churches. There is no oops later. When facing God at judgement, claiming it's the church's fault will not fly. The Bible is full of verses that point to personal responsibility to mature spiritually, or face spiritual death, which leads to hell. We need to learn the truth and grow spiritually. How do we do that:

- Seek God by reading the Bible (or hearing), as Jesus instructed in the Sermon on the Mount.

- Seek His Righteousness by praying the Lord’s Prayer daily as Jesus instructed. And meaning it correctly: the daily Bread is the body of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Why daily? Because Jesus said so in the prayer. And, you don’t have to chew on actual bread like some churches advise. You can spiritually receive God’s Bread of life by genuinely saying the Lord's Prayer.

Do you know this verse from Jesus? Luke 9:60 “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” And along those lines I say, let the dead attend church with the dead. But as for you, genuine Christian believer, leave the churches and seek the kingdom of God by studying the scriptures with your family and friends, without letting the church poison your knowledge. See my page on what to do instead here: How To Be True Christians. I assure you God will be with you and will guide you.

9.2.5.1 Still Tithing 10%?

Should be more like 0.01% today. The 10% amount of tithing was meant only for the Jews. It was advised by God in the days of Moses when it was an 11 to 1 ratio of tribes - Of the 12 tribes of Israel, one tribe, the Levites was the priestly tribe who did not get a land inheritance and instead was given 10% of goods from the other 11 tribes.

This was because the Levites had a tough job to execute hundreds of requirements in the temple of God daily, and had no time to work the land, God advised the other 11 tribes to give a tenth of their produce to the Levite tribe. Today's church, in comparison does nothing, except preach on Sunday what their predecessors preached. And is still pressing their members to tithe the full 10%. Also in comparison, the ratio of people-to-church-ministers today is more like 1,000 to 1, vs., the Jews was 11 to 1. Tithing was later modified by Paul in the New Testament to: "Any gift is good" Philippians 4:14-17.

So a more fair tithing number today would be 0.01% of income, and this is more than enough for the inefficient preaching they do. Donate the rest of the 10% to charity.

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